A week has passed since we first arrived in this world, and today is the first day we explore a dungeon as the Neon Cavaliers. According to Lucy, this dungeon is perfect for gaining EXP and getting rare items, which could sell at a high price. The dungeon was in a cave somewhere in the forest. Luckily for us, Lucy knew the way.
We didn’t know what to expect, but Lucy told us a large boss monster lies at the end of the dungeon. No one has ever managed to make it past him and steal his treasure from what she told us. I brought Yuki with me, though my friends weren’t particularly comfortable with me bringing a young girl with us to a dungeon. I told them it would be fine as a Support skill she knows can make us undetectable to enemies who are a lower level to us for 3 minutes.
When we entered the dungeon, we found bipedal pig-like monsters called an Abyssling. The deeper we entered the dungeon, the more of these monsters appeared, and the higher level they became. We were probably halfway deep when we found an ore mine and two rusted pickaxes that were still in good shape to mine some of the ore.
Matt and I decided to mine some of the ore while the others kept watching for enemies. We probably mined about 20 pieces of ore when we heard a high pitch scream. We looked up, finding a large monster called the Slender Horror Hog, known for its high pitch scream that can freeze enemies frozen with fear. We knew that it was the boss of the dungeon.
It jumped down from where it was standing and took out a scythe. The monster was a bipedal boar, at least 15 feet tall, covered in scars from head to two. I charged at us, but we were able to dodge it. I looked over at my friends and told them what to do.
“Matt, supply us backup with your arrows, Yuki and Leo, you come with me and attack head-on, I’ll use my shield to protect you guys, and Connor, use your support skill. This monster is at least five times our level, so well need it to do some damage, and you can take care of the minions.”
“Why do I need to use my support skill? I can attack head-on too.”
“Your support skill raises our attack by 10, and besides, your movements can be predictable. So, we need you to do that support skill now.”
“Fine. Support skill: Attack up on Matt, Leo, Alex, and Yuki!”
A red aura developed around us before disappearing, and we began our attack. Yuki and I charged in from the sides, Leo came in from the front, and Mat shot his arrows at it. Yuki and I used our teamwork we were practicing dealing massive damage to it, but it still wasn’t enough as it changed it used a high pitch scream to immobilize us, it then hit us with its scythe.
“Leo, I have an idea. Let’s use a combo skill.”
Leo nodded, and we stood next to each other and combined our weapons to launch our combo skill at it.
“Combo skill: Terminal Fire!”
We launched our combo skill at the Slender Hog, and It was enveloped in a tornado of fire, causing massive damage to it. I looked at Matt, telling him to end it with his skill.
“Got it! Fissure shot!”
Matt launched his arrow at the monster’s head, and it went straight through it, killing it on the spot. We celebrated the victory and grabbed the items it dropped. I looked over at Connor, who looked disappointed that he didn’t get a chance to fight the boss.
“Sorry, Connor, but I couldn’t risk you messing this up.”
“Messing it up? How could I have messed it up?!”
Leo and Matt agreed with me, saying how he couldn’t even hit the Abysslings and that the boss would have killed him since he’s still at a lower level than the rest of us.
“I know I’m level 15 right now, and you guys are level 20, but I can prove to you that I’m no weakling. Next time we face an enemy, I’ll show you how strong I am.”
We looked at him, telling him we never called him a weakling and to go and find the treasure. We opened the treasure chest and found gold and a sword called the Shadow Blade. We left the dungeon and headed back home, but it got dark, so we decided to camp out for the night.
It was decided that Yuki would get the sword, and we ate some of the food we found in the dungeon, set up camp, and went to sleep. I was looking at my skill tree when Yuki asked if we could switch shifts so I could get some rest. I agreed and went to sleep for the rest of the night.
The next day my friends woke me up in a panic.
“Yeesh, why are you guys in such a panic?”
They were pointing at a girl who looked too much like Yuki, and upon a further glance, I realized it was her. Yuki turned around and smiled at us.
“You’re probably wondering why I look like an adult. To put it simply, when we Demi-Humans are raised by legendary warriors at a young age and reach a certain level, we become the same age and height as the warrior. If not, we grow like any normal person.”
I scratched my head.
“Huh. That’s weird but interesting.”
We headed back to the castle, and I got yelled at by Selena, who thought I abandoned Yuki for someone older. I explained to her what happened and what Yuki told us about Demi-Humans. Selena told us that the devil king is sending one of the generals named Glarek the Orc, and he’s bringing his army of Goblins and Bloodhound wolfs.
“They will arrive in the north in about a week, so do what you can to level up.”
She walked away with some knights to prepare a plan of attack within the next week. The others and I decided to head toward the guild and figure out what we are going to do before the army comes. We grabbed a seat and brought up some ideas. We ultimately decided to do one quest every day till the time arrives. The first quest we picked was to kill some Aitkin Boars from eating crops at a farm.
When we arrived, the farmers told us they come at night so we would have to wait, but they will pay us for the wait. We accepted and waited till nightfall. When night arrived, we heard snorting noises from the bush and readied our weapons, but when the Aitkin Boars arrived, we didn’t expect a large one to appear, and it turns out that was their queen. Connor lunged forward, saying how he’s going to show how strong he is, but The Queen Aitkin Boar tossed him into a tree and charged at him. I blocked the attack with my shield and knocked it back so Yuki can get the attack in.
“Connor, don’t charge in like that.”
Connor didn’t say a word. He just got up, grabbed his spear, and went to help us fight the Aitkin Boars and their queen. The battle was a hard one, but we managed to kill the queen and the other Aitkin Boars. We then decided to build a fence around the crops. The farmers gave us 25 silver coins since they didn’t know the queen would show up with them.
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We thanked them for the coins and headed back to the guild to tell them we completed the quest. The guild lady gave us our reward for completing the quest and a bonus for defeating The Queen Aitkin Boar. We decided to spend the coins we got on some new clothes for Yuki to wear and a new sword. We then headed to the bathhouse to relax a bit.
After the bath, we all agreed with me, and we discussed the quest for tomorrow. The quest we picked was to bring some items to a village south of the kingdom, but it would take two days. We would need to leave early to get a carriage to carry it all. We headed back to the castle to be greeted by Ruby, who asked if we were doing anything tomorrow. We told Ruby about the quest to bring items and materials to a village south of the kingdom, she told us that she knows the way to the village, and she’ll take us there if we bring her along. We agreed to bring her along, but only if she helps carry the items into the village. We told her good night and headed to our rooms for a long rest.
“So, you need to rent a carriage for two days? Let me see what I can get.”
The man came back with a carriage and one horse. We asked how much it would cost, gave the 200 silvers to him, and loaded up the carriage with the items to bring to the village. Ruby sat in the front with the map and showed me how to use the harness, and we headed for the village.
The path we took was next to a river in a forest, where I spotted animals like deer and rabbits. Once we made it to the mountains, Ruby told us we should be careful as bandits sometimes appear in the mountains, but the village was at the end of the mountains. We were probably halfway in the mountains when I noticed some people on the path. I stopped the carriage and told the others to get out and ready their weapons as we ran into some bandits.
“What’s in the carriage, pal?”
“Nothing. Now let us through.”
“Don’t be so rude.”
The man looked at Ruby and Yuki and smirked.
“Those are some pretty girls you have there. We’ll take them and have some fun. What say, you boys?”
The other bandits yelled in agreeance. Yuki readied her blade to attack, but Ruby held her hand out to make her stop, got down from the carriage, and asked Connor to hold her healing staff. She then walked up near the bandits, did some stretches, jumped up and down, then got in a fighting stance.
“Huh? Do you really think you can take us on, little girl? Don’t make me laugh.”
“Yes.”
She lunged forward at a blinding speed, throwing dust in the air, landing a punch on the bandit, making him stumble back.
“What the hell are you?”
Ruby tilted her head up and glanced at him as he fell on the floor unconscious. The other bandits charged at Ruby, but she dodged their attacks and quickly knocked them out with multiple punches and kicks. Ruby cracked her knuckles, sighed, and looked at us. She grabbed some rope from the back of the carriage and tied the bandits up. She grabbed her healing staff from Connor and sat down in the carriage. We didn’t say a word for the rest of the way until we got to the village, where I asked her how she learned to fight like that and if she could teach me sometime.
She smiled and told me that since she uses a healing staff, she felt useless compared to her sisters, and to bring herself close to their level she read books on different forms of combat. She promised to teach me how to fight hand-to-hand when we get back to the kingdom, but I need to talk to Selena about it first.
We unloaded the rest of the items and rested in the village for the night. During breakfast, Yuki asked if we could head to one of the other kingdoms after we beat, Glarek the Orc. I told her we could. We got out to pay from the villagers and headed back to the kingdom. When we arrived, I asked Selena if Ruby could train me in hand-to-hand combat.
“Why do you want to learn how to fight?”
“I could help me be a better warrior.”
“Fine. Not sure why you need my permission, though.”
I looked for Ruby, asked her when we can start training, and she told me we can start right now, so we headed to the training arena. Ruby asked me to put my sword away but told me to feel free to use my shield if I wanted to. Ruby was quick with her punches and sheer speed made her hard to track; I could barely see when and where she was going to strike. I managed to block a couple of her attacks with my shield and land a few punches, but I got tired quickly.
She told me that when I get rid of my sword, my attack power gets cut by half, but my speed/agility triples, so I could use that to my advantage. I asked her if we could train again tomorrow, which she agreed to. I noticed Yuki was watching us train and called her to come down. I asked Ruby if Yuki can train with us too, to which she agreed.
Yuki was a quick learner when it came to hand-to-hand combat. She was able to outmaneuver me, but I was able to keep up with her. Ruby came by to see how our training was going. We showed her how far we got by doing a little spar between Yuki and Me, but Ruby got fired up by watching us and asked if we can do a two-on-one match, Me and Yuki vs. her.
“A two-on-one match? I don’t see why not. What do you say, Yuki?”
“If you agree, Sir Alex, then I’m game!”
Ruby smiled, cracking her fists, “It’s settled then. No holding back, you two.”
We got in a fighting stance. I summoned my shield as Yuki lunged at Ruby, but she dodged Yuki’s attack and tripped her using her foot. Yuki regained her balance, throwing multiple kicks at Ruby, connecting them. Ruby jumped back, saw me coming from the left, crouched down, and swept her leg to throw me off balance, but I saw it coming and jumped in the air. I put my shield in front of me as she got up quickly and did a barrage of kicks. Yuki came from behind, catching Ruby off guard, allowing me to use a skill I made for hand-to-hand combat.
“Fire fist!”
A flame enveloped my fist as I landed a punch to Ruby’s face. She stumbled back, putting her hand on her cheek. She smiled, held her fist in the air, and slammed the ground.
“Outburst Wave!”
A medium-sized energy wave came out from her fist in my direction, I blocked it with my shield, but the energy wave began to push me back as my feet began to dig into the ground. I yelled and threw my arms back, launching the energy wave into the sky. It exploded, and I fell to the ground, exhausted. Ruby began clapping her hands as Yuki rushed to help me up.
“Why are you clapping?”
“No one has ever managed to block that skill, let alone toss it aside. You really surprised me there, Alex. I’ll teach you two the skill as my way of saying thanks.“Ruby taught us the skill, and Yuki and I got back to training as Ruby left the arena. While Yuki and I were training, Lucy came by to tell us the queen called an emergency meeting with everyone. We headed to the queen’s throne room. Leo, Matt, Connor were already there with the other princesses.
“You are probably wondering why I called you all here. Let’s cut to the chase. Glarek the Orc and his army will arrive earlier than predicted. We will need to leave as soon as possible. Selena, can you rally the troops and prepare them for battle. Lucy and Ruby, please go and gather the supplies and put them in the carriages. Elysia, use your magic to find their locations, and Yuki, please leave the room so I may explain the plan to the Neon Cavaliers as this will be their first time in battle.”
Yuki and the princesses left the room to do what they were told, as the queen explained the strategy to us in full detail, making sure we understood everything from it. “To be clear, Alex, Leonardo, and Yuki will go with Selena and the troops to attack in the front lines. Connor will support the middle line, along with Lucy and Ruby. Matteo will support the archers in the back with Elysia. I will not join the battle, as I must watch over the kingdom to make sure things go as planned as we prepare for battle. Do you all understand the plan?”
We told her we do and left the room. Yuki was waiting by the door and asked what the plan was, I explained what the queen told us, but she seemed worried since I was going to be fighting in the front lines. I told her that I’d be fine since she and Selena are going to be fighting at my side, and she has nothing to worry about. I told her good night, heading straight for my room to rest.
The next day I looked out my window to see Selena ordering the troops around. Some of them were bringing horses and Pegasi, putting items in carriages, repairing damaged weapons, and some were practicing combat with each other. Selena noticed me from the window, pointed her finger at me in a motion, telling me to come down and train for a bit. I got dressed, at a fast breakfast, headed to the training arena to see Selena already there holding her sword on her shoulder facing away from me.
“This will be your first battle. Let me see what you’re made of.”
She turned around, putting her sword in front of her. She lunged at me with her sword as I blocked it my shield and threw a punch, she jumped back as I rushed at her with my sword, but she used a counter skill throwing me back. We trained a bit more before Lucy came in, saying that everything has been prepared and we are leaving immediately to where the battle will take place. I got into the carriage with Selena and Leo as we headed north to fight Glarek the Orc, and his army.